Evolutionary potential of populations of Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) from archaeological sites in the Amazonia aiming at the development of strategies for ecosystem recovery

• Grant number: 24/00569-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: March 19, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Applied Botany
• Principal Investigator: Maria Imaculada Zucchi
• Grantee: Flaviane Malaquias Costa
• Supervisor: David Moreno Mateos
• Host Institution: Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Oxford, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/12692-3 - Evolutionary potential of populations of Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa) from archaeological sites in the Amazonia aiming at the development of strategies for ecosystem recovery, BP.PD

Abstract

Multiple large-scale forest restoration strategies are emerging globally to counteract ecosystems degradation and biodiversity loss. However, these strategies often remain insufficient to offset the loss caused by anthropogenic development. In this project, we propose to investigate the adaptative potential of the Brazil nut tree, a species that key roles in the structure of forest and their functioning, after anthropic disturbance cessation. The collections will be carried out on Pre-Columbian archaeological sites, today known as Terras Pretas Amazônicas (TPA), where the descendants of ancient Brazilian nut trees still grow today. With 9 selected TPA sites sequentially abandoned that have never been reoccupied, we will build a 2,000-year chronosequence. This chronosequence will allow us understand how the Brazilian nut trees recover their adaptive potential after they are released from domestication when Pre-Columbian peoples collapsed around the XV century. Our team will explore changes in the whole genome of the Brazilian nut tree along the chronosequence to start the new field of restoration genomics. The genomic analyses and discussion of the results will be performed out at the University of Oxford, through the application for a Research Internship Abroad (BEPE), in partnership with Professor Dr. David Moreno Mateos, a specialist in ecosystem recovery. The results will help find genomes with increased genetic variability and thus adaptive potential. Individuals with these genomes can then be used in tropical forest restoration, increasing the resilience and resistance of forests to ongoing global changes.